Upsurges of Metatheatrical Dramaturgy in Heather Raffo's 9

Sahar Abdel Khaleq Abbass Upsurges of Metatheatrical Dramaturgy in Heather Raffo’s 9 Parts of Desire By Sahar Abdel Khaleq Abbass (مدرس) Assistant Professor of English Literature Hurghada Faculty of Education South Valley University, Egypt Abstract The primary concern of this paper is to focus on the use of metatheatre in 9 Parts of Desire (2006), a play written by the American Iraqi dramatist, Heather Raffo. The word “metatheatre” or “metadrama” was first coined in 1963 by Lionel Abel, who introduced a new form of drama that breaks with the modernist conventions and techniques. A discussion of the metatheatrical elements in 9 Parts of Desire enlightens interpretive potentials beyond the realm of its often-discussed traumatic nature. 9 Parts of Desire is a play that dramatizes the stories of nine Iraqi women. The narratives of these women are taken into limelight on Raffo’s versatile theatre, as the structure of her play breaks with the norms of traditional theatre. According to Lionel Abel, the word “metatheatre” is used to describe self- conscious theatre, one that demonstrates its own theatricality. Raffo’s artful self-reflexive and self-conscious devices helped portray a lively vision of both Iraqi women’s solid deep bonds to Iraq, and the US invasion’s impact on their lives. Meanwhile, Raffo managed to stimulate her audience/reader to think not only of the embedded meaning of the play’s perspectives but also of its crafty dramaturgy. Therefore, this paper explores how the employment of specific metatheatrical techniques in 9 Parts of Desire has helped enlighten the playwright’s unique vision of the emotional, cultural, and historical dimensions of her characters and their theatrical awareness, as well. Key words: 9 Parts of Desire, Heather Raffo, Metatheatre, Self- conscious Theatre ( ) ISSN 1110-2721 95 Occasional Papers Vol. 71: July (2020) ملخص البحث يتناول البح ث جانب الميتا مسرح في مسرحية تسعة أجزاء من الرغبة )2006( التي قامت بتأليفها الكاتبة المسرحية اﻷميركية من أصل عراقي، هيذر رافو. وجدير بالذكر أن أول من أطلق لفظ "الميتا مسرح" على هذا النوع من الكتابة المسرحية في عام 1963، هو الناقد المسرحي اﻷميركي ﻻينل إيبل. إن مسرحية تسعة أجزاء من الرغبة تعالج تجارب تسع نماذج مختلفة من النساء العراقيات، باستخدام أسلوب الميتا مسرح بشكل شامل ومتنوع، كاسرة بذلك حواجز أساليب الكتابة المسرحية التقليدية. وطبقا للناقد المسرحي ﻻينل إيبل، فإن كلمة "ميتاثيتر" أو الميتا مسرح تستخدم لوصف المسرح ذاتي الوعي أو ذاتي التعبير. وقد ساع د استخدام رافو لهذا النوع من التعبير المسرح ي على إثراء تصوير عمق عﻻقة النساء العراقيات بوطنهم، باﻹضافة إلى توضيح تأثير الغزو اﻷميركي على حياتهم. وبذلك استطاعت رافو أن تساع د قارئ ومشاهد المسرحية على استيعا ب كل من المعاني التي تهدف إليها المسرحية وأيضا اﻷسلو ب الفني الذي تم حياكتها به . لذلك فإن الهدف من هذا البحث هو إلقاء الضوء على استخدام رافو لﻷسلوب الدرامي المسمى بالميتا مسرح في مسرحية تسعة أجزاء من الرغبة، وكيف استطاعت من خﻻله أن تقوم بإبداع بتصوير الجوانب العاطفية والثقافية والتاريخية لشخصيات مسرحي تها. الكلمات اﻻفتتاحي ة: تسعة أجزاء من الرغبة، هيذر رافو، الميتا مسرح، المسرح ذاتي الوع ي (96) ISSN 1110-2721 Occasional Papers Vol. 71: July (2020) Sahar Abdel Khaleq Abbass 1. Introduction The aim of this research paper is to explore how in 9 Parts of Desire, Raffo sets aside the common dramaturgical techniques of theatre and employs metatheatrical techniques to depict her unique perspective of the play’s characters’ ties to Iraqi culture. 9 Parts of Desire has more than one level of interpretations. This paper, however, will only focus on Raffo’s employment of metatheatre in the play. Though Raffo’s use of metatheatrical devices in the play is varied and versatile, yet this study will only select the most recognizable metatheatrical features in the light of Richard Hornby’s perception of metatheatre. Raffo’s artistry of this multidimensional device is made clear through examining her implementation of techniques such as real-reference to places, names and languages, ceremonies and rituals, role- playing within the play, and self- reflectively theatrical scenes. These techniques are sometimes separately employed in the play or juxtaposed with one another, in a way that abolishes the boundary between the audience and characters, creating the required evenhanded reception world for the audience. Although recognized as popular only in the mid-twentieth century, practices of a distinctly metatheatrical nature pierced the works of numerous modern and contemporary dramatists. The term metatheatre began to extensively capture the attention in the 1960s, after the word “meta” had marked unpreceded importance for literary men. As Brian Crow (2002) maintains, “Metatheatre or the capacity of stage text and performance to refer to and comment on its own nature as an artistic medium has been an age-long adaptation” (p. 133) in theatrical works. In Oxford Dictionary of Current English, the word ‘meta’ means: “behind, after or beyond”. Thus, a play is identified as metatheatrical if it employs other devices on theatre than the narrative itself, or in other words a series of reflexive dramatic strategies, which have dramaturgical functions. These devices help “develop the story [and] provide an underlying way of thinking about life and the art of theatre itself” (Liang, 2010, p. 100). The formulation of the notion “metatheatre” or “metadrama” is indebted to the American playwright and theatre critic, Lionel Abel who was the first to coin it in 1963, in his Metatheatre: A New View of Dramatic Form. Explaining how the word metatheatre had been widely used all over the world, Abel (2003, p. v) asserts that “metatheatre at the very least, has added a word to the language with which we now talk of theatre”. He maintains that metatheatrical plays “have one common character: all of them are theatre pieces about life seen as already theatricalized” (Abel, 2003, p. vi). Then he adds that “persons appearing on the stage in these plays are there simply because they ... ( ) ISSN 1110-2721 97 Occasional Papers Vol. 71: July (2020) already knew they are dramatic. They are aware of their own theatricality” (Abel, 2003, p. vi). However, the understanding of metatheatre has been deepened and broadened and is no longer confined to some limited identification. As Patrice Pavis (1998) clarifies, in his Dictionary of the theatre, “metatheatricality is a fundamental characteristic of any theatrical communication” (p. 210). “All that is required” for a play to be metatheatrical “ is that the represented reality appears to be one that is already theatrical, as in plays in which the main theme is life as theatre . [and] where the dividing line between play and real life is erased” (Pavis, 1998, p. 210). “It deliberately marks the boundaries the conventional theatre tries to hide and constantly reminds the audience of the relationship between performance and reality” (Liang, 2010, p. 100). Millie Barranger also suggests that “The metatheatrical play... uses the stage-as-stage to present life as theatricality” and “has as one of its goals an examination of the distinctions between art and life” (as cited in Liang, 2010, p. 100). Metatheatre is that kind of literature with self- awareness that helps unlimited capacities of theatre making and which as Crow (2002) suggests is able to “anatomize oppression and injustice and to celebrate the capacity of theatre and the theatrical to function as modes of survival, resistance, and even... optimistic moments” (p. 134). In fact metatheatrical devices can be used in theatre to feature different ideological themes of a play. A good example of this is Albert Brecht’s epic theatre which was the first to systematically use metatheatrical techniques for political purposes. In 9 Parts of Desire, Heather Raffo, has also used metatheatre as a device to portray the play’s characters’ resistance and heritage, thus emphasizing the play’s political and historical dimensions. Richard Hornby’s Drama, Metadrama and Perception (1986), is considered the most influential book on metatheatrical views and practices. In his inspiring work, Hornby expanded the meaning of “Metatheatre”, by identifying more characteristics and devices to a metatheatrical play. He perceives metatheatre as “drama about drama”. To him, metatheatre happens “whenever the subject of a play turns out to be, in some sense, drama itself” (Hornby, 1986, p. 31). In his book, Hornby identifies five different techniques of metatheatre, which sometimes blend with each other. These devices are “the play within the play”, “the ceremony within the play”, “role playing within the role”, “literary and real-life reference”, and “self- reference” (Hornby, 1986, p. 32). He maintains that they have “no truth in and of themselves, but rather a means of discovering truth” of life (Hornby, 1986, p. 32). Hornby’s classification of different forms and types of (98) ISSN 1110-2721 Occasional Papers Vol. 71: July (2020) Sahar Abdel Khaleq Abbass metatheatre in his book is helpful in analyzing 9 Parts of Desire. Moreover, his application and assemblage of his idea of metatheatrical drama and culture in his book, reflect as Nadia Anwar suggests, “a wide range of cultural, literary, artistic, sociopolitical, and ideological influences that shape a particular piece of performance” (2016, para. 4). 2. 9 Parts of Desire’s production and perception Heather Raffo is an American dramatist, and performer. She was born in 1970 in Mosul, Iraq to an Iraqi father and an American mother. Her parents moved to the United States, early in the seventies, where she grew up and lived in Michigan. Raffo received a BA from the University of Michigan, and an MFA from the University of San Diego. Her achievements include Noura (2018), 9 Parts of Desire (2006), Sounds of Desire, a concert (2009). Raffo also participated in writing The Middle East in Pieces, a play written in 2006. Being an American with an Arabic origin had a great impact on shaping Raffo’s life.

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